Tobacco-pipe.



W. E. SLAM.

TOBACCO PIPE.

APPLIGATION FILED SEPT. 29, 1909.

Patented Mar. 8,1910.

5mm/lio@ afkomt@ l WWW/111111,10

WILLIAM n. ELAM, 0F WASHINGTON, DIsTn-Icr or COLUMBIA.

TOBACCO-PIPE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. s, 1910.

Application led September 29, 1909. Serial No. 520,198.

To all whom fit may concern:

Be it known that I, lVILLIAu E. ELAM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tobacco-Pipes, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to tobacco pipes of the class in which the stem is laterally openable between its end portions, for cleaning, and the openable part forms a receptacle, usually or preferably, to receive such fluids as may accumulate.

A principal object of the invention is to provide a detachable stem, usable with a variety of bowls, so made that the entire smoke duct may be quickly and easily cleaned without the use of any implement or device other than such as is always at hand or readily obtainable at any place under any ordinary conditions, the implement used being ordinarily a toothpick, a twig, or the like simple straight rod, much shorter than the stem.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side view of a pipe provided with my novel devices the pipe bowl being shown in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a plan View of the same pipe, the closure for the openable part being omitted. Fig. 3 is an axial section of the same pipe. Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4 4, Fig. 3, looking to the right. Fig. 5 is a like section, looking to the left.

In these views A represents a suitable pipe bowl and B the body of a stem having between its end portions an elongated slot B extending inward, preferably from the upper side, to open the smoke duct and form a chamber C into which both unopened portions or segments of the smoke duct open or lead.

The slot is widened and lengthened between the duct and the surface of the stem to form a plane shoulder D for receiving a slot closure, which is shown as a metal cup E in which is placed a cork slab F which projects slightly beyond the edges of the cup to rest against the shoulder just mentioned and hermetically close the slot. The closure is preferably pivoted at the end neXt the bowl to swing against the pipe bowl, when opened, as indicated in dotted lines, and the pivotal pin Gr is made materially smaller than the passage in which it lies, so that as the closure is pressed home it may adjust itself in every direction and may move inward to compensate permanent compression of the cork.

The closure is forced inward against its seat by a ring I-I which slides upon the stem the lower side of which graduallyincreases its distance from the closure, and to insure the application of pressure to the closure in case the cork yields very considerably, Vthe upper side of the stem is cut away at I, alongside the slot. As in other pipes, a proj ection J prevents the ring from sliding olf the stem.

It is of course to be understood that the construction is not invariable, and that other material than cork may be used.

As shown, the body of the stem is a single piece but is made up of a central laterally openable segment, a tip segment alining with the middle segment and having a laterally closed duct opening into the slot or chamber of the middle segment, and a third segment making an angle with the remainder and having a laterally closed duct opening into the opposite end of the slot or chamber and alining with the slot in such manner that a straight rod may pass into the open slot and thence directlyV into this duct, which leads directly into the pipe bowl.

Preferably, the length of the slot is a very considerable fraction of the entire length of the stem, and the unopened segments are, in ordinary pipes, short and preferably both approximately rectilinear.

In the use of the stem, the ring forces the closure home, whatever its material, and the large pivot opening allows the closure to adjust itself to its seat even though the meeting faces be somewhat distorted. When cleaning is necessary, the ring is slipped off the closure and the latter is swung open and against the bowl, which prevents its acting as a long lever tending to break the parts at the pivotal point, any liquid collected in the chamber is poured out and the recess is scraped out or wiped out if desired. The two laterally unopened segments are cleaned by the use of any suitable short rod, such as a toothpick. It is of course impracticable to insert such rod through the bowl, but the arrangement is such that the rod may be inserted through the slotand pass directly into the duct and thenceV into the bowl.

The use of the metal cup with a yielding body of cork or the like filling the same and projecting slightly therefrom is an important feature. The cup walls being slightly outwardly divergent, the yielding material may be very easily removed and replaced, being frictionally held like a cork in a bottle, and at the same time it is confined laterally which to a large extent prevents distortion of the working face and which also protects the cork from injury.

With the particular form of bowl shown in the drawings, the slot should be in the npper side of the stem, but with certain other common forms it may be placed elsewhere.

The stem is shown as threaded for engagement with the bowl, but like other stems, this stem may be otherwise attached.

That I claim is:

l. A. pipe stem having a segment extending from its tip at an angle with the remaining segment and having a portion of the first segment laterally openable near the angle to permit separately cleaning the two adjacent unopened segments of the smoke duct.

2. A. stem having in its medial portion a slot extending inward to open the smoke duct and to form a chamber into which accumulating fluids may ilow and having thatsegment of the stem between said portion and the bowl-meeting end of the stem eX- tending obliquely away from the slot-ted side and the unopened port-ion of the duct being without turns or olisets obstructing the free passage of a cleaning rod therethrough.

3. A pipe stem having a middle, laterally openable, segment, a bowl segment making an angle with the middle segment and having its dnct alined with the external portion oil the opening' in the middle segment, and a tip segment alining with the middle seg ment, substantially as set forth.

el. A pipe stem haifing straight bowl and tip segments making an angle with each other, the tip segment being slotted inwardly near the angle to open the duct and form a liquid receptacle below the same, and provided with a readily openable closure for the slot.

The combination with a stem having a straight bowl-segment making' an angle with a straight tip-segment and having in the lat ter near the angle a lateral slot provided with a shoulder above the duct openings in the slot, of a metal cup loosely pivoted in the slot in position to swing against the top of the bowl in opening and lilled with yielding material projecting from the cup to meet said shoulder, and means for locking the hinged member against said shoulder.

6. ,The combination with ay pipe stem having a lateral opening' extending inward to the smo-ke duct and a closure seat surrounding said opening, of a closure consisting of a cup and a removable body of cork orthe like filling the cup, projecting slightly beyond its edges, and adapted to lit against. said seat, substantially as set forth. Y'

In testimony `whereof l a'tlix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

VILLIAM E. ELAN. lVitnesses VM. M. BIRNEY, MEYER Davis. 

